It’s interesting to me that we frame a lot of issues as costing money.
Unhoused folk cost money to house.
Disabled folk cost money, too.
Immigrants cost money.
Trans folk cost money.
Nobody ever says, “Hey, how much does Jeff Bezos cost?” “How much does it cost us to have Elon Musk around, hoarding his money?” “What’s it costing us to have all these fabulously wealthy people?”
It’s costing us a lot more than we ever talk about. Not just because their hoarding of wealth takes that money out of circulation and contributes directly to poverty and the spiralling cost to human beings everywhere.
Also because things are being framed in this way, because we are being forced to think of ourselves and others in terms of cartoon dollar symbols.
That is not a natural state of affairs for humans, it is not something that is morally defensible, and it is something that eats away at each of us in different ways depending on our position vis à vis wealth.
You are never too expensive to deserve to live.
I can’t fucking believe my eyes. A man is being sentenced to death because he’s gay and a lifetime in prison would be something he would enjoy. This is sickening. Everyone should know about this.
Oh yes we love our carceral state
……what if you just. made a pancake. then wrapped it in a crêpe. useless, yes, but. listen.
My Brother, My Brother, and Me but it’s a crappy thriller.
holy shit this is a fantastic job of editing omg
I find it kinda odd how people talk about writing “flawed” characters like the flaws are an afterthought
Like “cool cool we’ve got this perfect hero now to just sprinkle on some Irritability and Trust Issues then microwave for 6 minutes on high until Done”
But I’ve personally found it feels a lot more useful to just… think of the flaws as the Good Traits except bad this time
The protagonist is loyal? Maybe that means they have a hard time recognizing toxic relationships and are easily manipulated by those they want to trust
The hero is compassionate? Maybe they work too hard and overextend themselves trying to help people and then they refuse to ask for help when they need it themselves for fear of burdening others
They’re dedicated to their ideals? Maybe they’re also too stubborn to know when to quit and they have trouble apologizing for their mistakes
If they’re creative, they can also be flighty. If they’re confident, they can be arrogant. If they’re brave, they might be reckless. If they’re smart, they could be condescending. Protective can become controlling, and someone who’s carefree could very well also be emotionally distant
In my opinion, the best “flaws” aren’t just added on afterwards. The best flaws are baked in deep, ‘cause they’re really just virtues turned upside down